GBT-based Distortional Buckling Formulae for Thin-walled Channel Columns and Beams

After a brief outline of the Generalized Beam Theory (GBT) fundamentals and linear stability analysis procedure, the main concepts and steps involved in the derivation of GBT -based fully analytical formulae are described and discussed. Such formulae provide distortional bifurcation stress estimates in cold-formed steel channel columns and beams with arbitrary sloping single-lip edge stiffeners and pinned/free-to-warp or fixed/warping-free end sections. The application of the proposed formulae is illustrated in detail and, in order to assess their accuracy and validity, results concerning several specific channel columns and beams are presented. In particular, the GBT-based analytical estimates are compared with exact numerical results and, whenever possible, also with values yielded by the formulae developed by Lau & Hancock, Hancock and Schafer